Bel Air boy to be in episode of CBS drama 'Person of Interest'

By day, he is a 10-year-old student like many others at Hickory Elementary School. But when he's not in school, Parker has been traveling, trying to find work as an actor.

He has pursued auditions and casting calls for about two years, his father said, but now he has gotten one big break: making his prime time network TV debut on the CBS crime drama "Person of Interest."

Parker spent the fall in New York for the filming of the episode, which will air sometime in late December or early January.

He will play the role of "Young Finch," in a flashback scene during Episode 13 where the character Harold Finch returns to his childhood in 1969.

The character Harold Finch is the mastermind behind "The Machine," which generates a social security number of a "person of interest" who needs to be watched.

Each week, viewers don't know if this person needs to be protected or is going to do harm to another. Finch works closely with his partner, John Reese, a ex-spy who in the eyes of the law doesn't exist. Periodically, flashbacks give viewers small pieces of the puzzle behind Finch and Reese's past and how they ended up where they are now.

Parker's father, T.J. Brightman, said the acting is just for fun and it remains to be seen if Parker is brought back for a recurring role in the series.

"He is a very theatrical kid and always has been, even though he is only 10 years old, and said that was something he wanted to pursue," T.J. Brightman said. "We have supported him, and it really has brought out a lot of other benefits. He is doing really well in school, doing well in classes."

Parker's first taste of acting came when he went to a casting call in Baltimore and was one of 10 people selected out of about 1,200 in open casting for Disney.

He then got a shot in a Hallmark movie called "Look Up," shortly after which he was booked for "Person of Interest," T.J. Brightman said.

"He loved the character, he loved working with the cast," Parker's father said about "Person of Interest."

"He is having a good time with this," he said.

Parker agreed that acting has been fun so far. His mother, Anita, noted he had to be on set outside from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the cold in New York.

"It actually feels pretty good and exciting," Parker said about the filming. "It was a little hard, but it gives me great incentive."

He also said classmates and friends have been intrigued by his acting career on the side.

"A lot of people have said, 'What is this?' A lot have been asking me," he said.

T.J. Brightman, who runs A. Bright Idea! advertising and public relations company in Bel Air with his wife, said his family does have a little bit of an acting past.